KQED's Forum

Beds for those struggling with mental illness and addiction are going empty at a number of treatment facilities across the city, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In one such case, the Chronicle found that in July of this year only 32 patients occupied the 55-bed Adult Residential Facility on SF General Hospital's campus. Department of Public Health officials say staff negligence and concerns over patient safety prompted their decision last year to stop admitting patients. We discuss this gap in services at a time when the city's mentally ill and homeless populations are growing.

We've all heard that friendship and community is important for our happiness and even our health. But many of us find it harder to make friends, and nurture friendships that we do have, as adults. Forum discusses ways to find new friends and how to forge deeper connections with people who are already in our lives.

Assembly Bill 1482, a measure to cap most annual rent increases at 5% plus inflation, passed the state legislature this week and will take effect Jan. 1. The bill also provides further protections against eviction without cause. Governor Newsom has pledged to sign AB 1482, calling its renter protections "the strongest package in America." We'll take your questions about the bill.

In a major development in the utility's efforts to exit bankruptcy, PG&E and a group of insurance companies announced Friday that they have settled claims for $11 billion arising from the 2017 and 2018 California wildfires. The settlement is subject to approval by the federal bankruptcy court overseeing the utility’s reorganization.

It's not enough to be against racism, or to not consider ourselves racists, argues American University professor Ibram X. Kendi. Instead, we must actively be "antiracist" and fight for racial equality. Kendi's new book, "How to Be an Antiracist," examines what he's learned from the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, of which he is founding director, as well as from his own life as a black man. Kendi puts personal and contemporary racism in conversation with national and historical racism, creating an instructive guide to follow his 2017 National Book Award-winning "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America." Kendi joins us to share his philosophy of "antiracism."

On Wednesday, lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 5, which would extend benefits and labor protections to workers in California’s “gig economy.” The bill now awaits Governor Newsom, who endorsed it earlier this month and is expected to sign it. We'll unpack the details of the bill, who stands to be affected by its requirements and what it means for workers. And we want to hear from you: Will this bill impact you and your work? Share your experience with us.

Playwright, novelist and software engineer Sujit Saraf has been writing and directing plays since co-founding the community theater company Naatak as a UC Berkeley student in 1995. Based in the South Bay, Naatak's plays are put on primarily by Indian immigrants working in Silicon Valley's tech industry. Saraf's newest play, a musical exploring the life and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, opens Sept. 14.  Saraf joins Forum to preview the musical and discuss his approach to presenting Gandhi's life story on stage.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has a new artistic director, Johanna Pfaelzer. Her inaugural season at Berkeley Rep opens this month and will include the shows "White Noise," "School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play" and "Happy Days." Pfaelzer previously helped develop Broadway hits "Hamilton" and Green Day's  "American Idiot" as artistic director of the nonprofit New York Stage and Film. Pfaelzer joins us to discuss her vision for Berkeley Rep and how she plans to draw in the next generation of theatergoers.

California's first known death associated with vaping marijuana was announced Friday by Los Angeles County health authorities. That same day, national health officials discouraged the use of e-cigarettes until they determine the cause of about 450 reported cases of a severe lung disease that has killed at least five people. In California, the Department of Public Health is currently investigating 62 potential cases of the disease in people with a recent history of vaping. An estimated 9 million adults and 3.6 million teenagers across the country use vapes, and a government survey last year found one in five teens reported vaping in the previous month. Forum talks about vape use and the potential dangers.

John Bolton stepped down from his role as national security adviser on Tuesday. The former security adviser and the president clashed over foreign policy throughout Bolton's term, and the two tweeted contradictory accounts of Bolton's resignation on Tuesday. President Trump announced via Twitter that he will appoint a new national security adviser next week. We'll talk about what the ousting of the Trump Administration's third national security adviser means for the White House and the nation.